Cold
by Nyx of the Night12
Summary: "Let's make a deal.I'll take care of your mother. But from this moment on, you are mine. Bound to serve me as a slave. Do you agree?" Len gulped before answering, "Y-Yes." Rin smirked. "'Yes' what?" "Y-Yes M-Mistress." Len, a poor boy, makes a deal with the Winter Goddess Rin. Will he manage to melt her frozen heart?
1. Chapter 1

The small figure, cloaked in a coat made of polar bear hide and with a tiara made of ice in her blonde hair, sat on the frozen rocks and watched as the snow that she created fall from the sky. The setting sun made them sparkle as they floated towards the ground and joined their fellow flakes.

She watched the bare trees collect more frozen drops on their thick branches that were covered with ice. The lake in front of her was also solid with ice, though she knew that only the top layer was actually frozen. She could have frozen the whole thing, but she didn't know what poor souls were living under it.

Instead, she simply grabbed a handful of the white crystals and started to make a small figure, on that she had sculpted many times before. Pale fingers carefully shaped the snow into a heart shape. Once finished with it, she kissed the snow lightly. She pulled it back just in time to see it freeze into a solid piece of ice.

It was beautiful, yet the kind of beauty that only certain people could see. Those who had seen her make them all praised her for her talent, but it all came to deaf ears. She knew it was beautiful, but it was also meaningless. They melted fast, the longest surviving for only twelve minutes without being kept in the cold.

She sighed and dropped the piece of frozen art, watching it shatter with indifference. The shards shone in the light of the sun.

The emotionless girl was just about to get up and make her way back to her home, when a familiar crunch caught her attention. The sound of footsteps was then followed by three sneezes, all a bit high but most definitely male.

' _A traveler? In winter?_ ' She asked herself. Curiosity getting the better if her, she silently pushed herself up and made her way over to the noise. Peaking over a tree, she saw a sight that caught her a bit off guard.

There, picking up wood in his fragile arms, was a blonde boy no older that fourteen. His clothes were old and a bit small, and his shoes were worn down to the soles. She noticed that there were no socks on his feet, just old cloth wrapped around them.

"* _Sneeze*Sneeze*Cough*Cough*Cough*Sneeze*_ " He staggered a bit, going to one knee to steady himself. Wiping his nose with with frozen fingers, he pushed himself up and made his way forward. He seemed to be struggling with the load, not that there was much to it anyways. They were mostly just sticks picked from low branches.

Rin followed him, making sure to stay hidden in the snow. The boy kept walking until he reached a tiny house, if you could call it that, in the middle of a clearing. He used his back to push in the broken door and let himself in.

Even more curious, she looked through one of the cracks of the door.

" _*Cough*_ M-Mother, I'm home." He croaked. A woman layed in a small bed in the middle of the room, obviously very sick. Her eyes were open so dull and lifeless. In her hands, she held an old hat like it was a newborn baby. She didn't acknowledge her son, only continued staring into the distance.

The woman shared the same blonde hair and blue eyes as the boy, and some of the same facial features. She wore a torn dress, but payed no attention to the cold air around her.

The boy sighed and set the sticks down into the fire place. With shaky hands, he took out a match from his pocket and struck it. The tiny flame crackled slightly as it was tossed with the rest of the wood. Nothing happened.

' _It's too wet. The sticks won't light._ ' Rin thought to herself.

The boy frowned in disappointment, but reached his hand back in for another match. He sighed when he found none. He walked over to his mother and pulled the blanket up to her chin.

"I'm sorry. The wood didn't light." He whispered to her. The woman did nothing, not even when he pecked her on the head.

Rin blinked in surprise when the boy layed down at the foot of the bed and curled himself into a fetal position. The boy shivered, blowing on his hands to try to conserve as much heat as he could. She heard him sniffle and try to suppress the more coughs that were threatening to slip out.

She sighed. He was going to freeze to death if he layed there without protection from the cold. Then, an idea struck her. Something that she hadn't done in over 600 years.

Rin quickly moved to the side and pushed open the already broken door. The boy didn't notice her, being to busy trying to stay warm. The woman was asleep on the bed.

Rin knelt down to him, yet he didn't even look at her.

' _Oh right. I'm still invisible to him_.' She remembered. Rin frowned when he started another coughing fit. She placed her freezing hands to his forehead. He froze in surprise, staring up at her in shock.

"Hello, boy." She said. He continued to stare and shiver. "What's your name?"

"L-Len, You're H-* _Cough_ * Highness." The boy, Len, said, obviously terrified. Rin moved her hand through his messy locks of blonde hair. He flinched.

He knew the stories, of the Gods and Goddesses that ruled every part of the world. They say their personalities matched their domain. For example, like the waves, the Ocean Goddess was carefree and reckless.

"Well, Len. I want to make a deal with you." She said. Len gulped. From everything he had ever heard anyone say, is that you should never make deals with any divine being. Especially Winter.

One legend stated that once a farmer had made a deal to her that said in exchange for the winter not to hit his family, that he would give visit her every day. She kept her ebd of the deal and winter didn't hit his home. One day, the farmer was sick and had to be bed ridden. That meant he broke the deal. As punishment, she froze him solid and shattered him to pieces in front of his wife and daughters.

"I'll make sure to protect your mother from the cold. I'll have my polar bears bring her fresh food from their hunt. She'll be well taken care of. How does that sound?" Len's eyes widened. Did he hear her right? She was going to help his mother? No, this was all just a trap like with the farmer.

"Wh-Why? L-Leave m-my mo-mother a-alone." He stuttered, but immediately wished he had kept his mouth shut. Rin smiled and kissed his cheek. Len gasped as he felt a wave of burning cold run through him. It felt like someone was breaking all his bones at once, setting fire to him, or even both. He shook with agony and burning tears filled his eyes. Pain overwhelmed his senses.

' _No, please! No more! It hurts! Please stop!_ ' He thought.

It hurt so much that he couldn't even breath, much less scream or beg for her to stop. His eyes and mouth were wide open. The cold in his body increased every second. His body tensed even more, if that was possible. He felt that if this went on, he would freeze to death.

Once Rin felt he had enough, she gave him another kiss on the forehead. Len gasped as the pain left swiftly. He shook with the aftershocks, trying to keep the tears from leaving his eyes.

"Don't tell me what to do, Len. Don't speak unless you are spoken to. Do you understand me?" Rin warned, her voice cold.

He nodded. He flinched again when she gently caressed his face and wiped away the hot tears. He hands were cold, just as he expected. But it didn't feel uncomfortable, surprisingly. Len let himself rest on the wooden floor.

"Good. Now about the deal." Rin started. "As I have said, I'll care for that woman. No harm will come to her, be it in my domain or not. She will be warm, well fed and taken perfect care of. And I'm not one to break my promises."

Len shut his eyes and whimpered. At the last sentence, she had dug her nails into the side of his head.

"Do you agree?" She asked.

"Wh-What's the catch?" He asked in a voice barely above a whisper. Rin smiled.

"Smart boy." She said and continued to pet him. "From this moment on, you are mine. You will do anything I say and obey my every command. Until the moment that I cannot care for your mother, you are bound to serve me as a slave."

His eyes widened in shock. A slave? To the Winter Goddess?

His head snapped towards his mother when he heard her groan in her sleep. She looked so fragile, like she would break any minute. Her stomach made a small growl, the results of not having enough to digests. Those skinny fingers gripped onto the hat that belonged to his late father.

"Do you agree?" She asked him again. Len stayed quiet for a second, before he found himself answering.

"Y-Yes." He whispered, curling up into an even tighter ball.

"' _Yes_ ' what?" She smirked, gripping onto his blonde locks. Len swallowed what little was left of his dignity and replied,

"Y-Yes Mi-Mistress."


	2. Chapter 2

"Good boy." Rin said, standing and dusting off her dress. "Sit up."

Len shakily did as he was told. She looked even more intimidating standing up. He could almost feel the cold aura surrounding her.

He blinked in surprise when his new Mistress unbuttoned her thick coat and took it off. Even more so when she handed it to him.

"Here. Put this on. You'll freeze in those rags." She said. Len nodded once and pulled on the warm polar bear hide. He felt like sighing from the bliss feeling of cold to warm. Len momentarily wondered why she even wore this coat. She looked like she didn't need it.

Len nearly yelped when she suddenly grabbed his arm and roughly pulled him to his feet. His head hit her chest and his arms somehow managed to grab onto her sides to steady himself. His face burned in embarrassment, but he held his breath in fear.

"Len," He tensed. "Let go of me and take a step back."

He winced, but obeyed. He closed his eyes, waiting for her to do something. Was she going to yell at him? Hit him? Give him that freezing punishment again? He whimpered in fear when he felt a hand gently grab his chin and lift his head up.

"Why are you so afraid of me? Why won't you even look at me? Am I that hideous?" She hissed in his ear. Len whimpered once more, but slowly shook his head no.

"To afraid to say 'yes'? Well, open your eyes." She ordered. Len bit his chapped lips and opened his eyes. She was standing right in front of him. He noticed how she was a few centimeters taller than him. Her hair was the same color as his with a small tiara placed proudly in it. Her skin was pale, her lips were red and full, her eyes the same shade as his, and her appearance young.

She was beautiful.

There was a gasp. They both turned their heads to the horrified woman on the bed. She was looking at her son, to Rin, and back again. Rin turned back to Len, forcing him to look back at her.

"We'll be leaving shortly. I'll call my polar bears to take us back to my home. You stay here and say your last goodbyes to your mother." With that, she made her way outside. Len waited until she was gone to kneel down beside the bed.

"Len. Why was a Goddess here? What does she mean by that? What did you do?!" Lenka asked him. Len looked down and told her about the deal, leaving out the parts where she tortured him with her kiss. By the time he was done, Lenka was in tears and shaking her head.

"No. No. Please tell me this is just some cruel joke. I can't lose you! I've already lost Rinto! Please, you're lying! This isn't happening!" She cried into his chest. Len felt the tears run down his face, but said nothing.

"Please, I'm sorry for not being a good mother. I'll start helping you with the chores. I'll spend more time with you. I'll even get a job, just please don't do this!"

"It's a little too late for that." Rin's voice was heard from the door. She stood there, holding a whip in one hand.

"Please no! Not my son!" Lenka whisper yelled, grabbing onto him the the tightest as the frail arms would let her. Len stared at the terrifying whip in her hands, praying it wasn't going to be used on him.

"Len, come here. Now." She demanded. Len shakily pried his mother's arms from him. Lenka started screaming for him to stay. Len hesitantly made his way over and stood before the Goddess. He didn't even try to fight back the tears that were already making his eyes red.

"NO! NO! NOT HIM! PLEASE NOT MY SON!" Lenka tried to reach out to him, but he was too far away. Oh, how she wished she was strong enough to walk.

"Len, let's go." Rin grabbed his arm and started to pull him out of the house. Lenka watched in defeat as he left her sight and sobbed. The cap on her bed fell to the ground.

Rin dragged the crying boy outside to the large barouche in front of the house. It was, not surprising, made entirely of ice, minus the reigns. Instead of the usual horse, there were two strong polar bears.

Rin opened the door and pushed the boy into her carriage. Len hit the floor with a small thud, but didn't make any moves of resistance. Rin climbed into the carriage's driver seat and sat down.

"Drive." She yelled, cracking the whip. Len flinched at the noise. The Polar Bears roared and started to pull the carriage. Len curled himself into a ball and finally let the tears out. He heard someone get up and land besides him, but he paid her no mind.

It wasn't until he felt cold hands through his hair did he look up.

"Humans are fragile, aren't they? You were the one to say yes but here you are crying." She pulled her hand back and sat up with the most perfect posture he had ever seen. Len closed his eyes, trying to control his tears. He didn't want to cry in front of her.

"Len, get on your knees." She ordered. Len blinked in confusion, but pushed himself up. He sat on his knees with his head down, the bumpy trip making it hard to keep his balance.

"Hold out your wrists." She said. Len lifted his head and held out both his arms. Len watched in awe as her fingers started to glow faintly. Ice started to form and mold itself until it made out something he recognized.

Shackles and Chains.

His eyes widened and he gasped in horror. He was tempted to pull back his arms, but she already grabbed one of the sleeves and pushed it back. Len shut his eyes, but he could still feel the cuffs being fastened on his wrists. It didn't feel cold, though. But they were heavy.

"Len, open your eyes." Rin ordered. Len did as he was told. He gulped as he stared at his bounded hands. The shackles had another chain coming from the side of his right cuff, which Rin was holding the end of.

"You can put them down now." Len let his arms drop, glad that he didn't have to support their weight anymore. He felt a tug on his wrist, indicating that Rin just pulled on her end of the chain.

"These mean that you can't escape from me. As long as you have those on, you're are tied to me. Once I unlock them, you are free to leave. But if they're broken, then I will find you and give you stronger ones to wear. That's how this deal works. Understand?"

Len nodded.

"Good boy." Rin smiled.


	3. Chapter 3

Rin took her time to study Len as the carriage moved forward. If she didn't know any better, she could have mistaken him to be a girl. His blonde hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail and was a bit spiked in the front. His eyes, while red from crying, were a brilliant shade of blue. He had slightly feminine features, yet she felt it worked better on him than anything else. He had a weak and fragile build, but that may have been from malnourishment.

She had to admit. He was cute. Not handsome, but...pretty.

She snapped out of her trance when the carriage pull to a stop.

Len gaped in awe at the huge castle in front of him. It was, as he expected, made entirely of ice. It shone bright with huges of blues, greens and purples, even as the sun was almost gone. The castle was so tall and so wide that he was sure that over a thousand rooms could fit in it. Surrounding it, were huge gates that reminded him of those pictures he was shown once when he went to church. He would have stared at it for hours, if it weren't for one thing.

"Len, get over here. You can stare at this another day." Rin snapped, already out of the carriage. Len flinched and tore his gaze away from the masterpiece in front of him.

Len pushed himself up, though with some difficulty. He carefully stepped down onto the snow, slipping a bit in the process. The second he steadied himself, he felt his chains being pulled.

"Follow me." She ordered. Len bowed his head and allowed himself to be led inside the huge castle. He felt like a prisoner being led to his cell or execution. Though that might not be far from his actual situation. Now that he thought of it, what was she going to do to him after his mother died? Was she going to let him go? Keep him locked up? Or was she going to...

' _Please, I don't want to die!_ '

"Now what are you crying about? Don't tell me you're starting to regret making this deal." Rin asked coldly. Len looked up in surprise. He was still crying?

He said nothing, just looked down again. He didn't even notice his surroundings as he was pulled into his thoughts.

' _My arms hurt._ ' he thought. ' _Do I have to wear these all the time?_ '

"First things first, you need a bath and some new clothes." Rin stated, stopping him in front of a door.

* * *

Len sat on the floor with his knees to his chest as he waited for Rin to come back.

"Stay here while I get you some new clothes." She had said.

Currently, he was in a room with a large bath in it. He was surprised by the fact that it looked like a normal bathroom and there was no ice in sight. Ice must melt too easily for it to be here. The room was somewhat big but almost empty, only having the bath, towel racks and sink in it. The floor was also carpeted an icy blue.

After a while of waiting, Rin finally came back holding some clothes in her arms. Hopefully they were warm enough. Rin hung the clothes up on the rack with towels and turned to him. Len involuntarily flinched.

"Strip." She ordered. Len's eyes widened in shock as his face started to heat up. Is she going to...

With a snap of her fingers, the ice keeping Len's hands together vanished. Len blinked in surprised, gasping a bit.

"Don't get to happy. I can make them reappear at anytime." Rin said. "Now do what I said and strip."

Len gulped. His face felt hot at the very thought. Nevertheless, he shakily removed the coat. Surprisingly, it didn't feel cold in here. He gulped again and started to take off his shirt.

Rin stared at the boy in surprise, but managed to keep it hidden. She didn't even realize how skinny he was. He looked like he was about to break!

Len felt his face burn as he stood to remove his pants. He couldn't even look at her because it was so embarrassing. The sound of running water caught his attention, though.

"Len, come here." Len sighed in relief. He was just about to remove his underwear when she stopped him. Without a word, he walked over to her.

"Check the temperature. I don't want you to freeze or burn." She said. Len nodded and did as he was told. He froze in surprise when he touched the water. It was downright freezing.

"I take it it's too cold for you? Hot water is on the right." He bit his lip and turned the cold water off. He pulled his hand back and shook the cold droplets off.

After a bit, he managed to adjust the water temperature. Rin nodded and went to the sink. Kneeling down, she opened the cabinets underneath and pulled out a bunch of bottles of shampoo, soap and one for bubble baths.

Len rubbed his arms, a nervous habit of his. Once the bath was ready, full of bubbles and warm, Rin turned back to the other blonde.

"Take those off and get in." Rin ordered.

Len blushed again, but did as he was told. Quickly, he slipped in to try and hide himself, not caring that he made the water a little too hot. Len crossed his legs and tried to hide under the bubbles around him. His face was on fire and he didn't dare look at Rin.

Rin smiled, a bit amused at how embarrassed he was.


	4. Chapter 4

Len sat on a small stool, dressed in the clothes that were given to him. They were nothing special, just a long sleeve, orange shirt, some weird, but warm, loose pants (sweatpants), and thick, wool socks. The underwear was new too, but he didn't want to go into much detail with that one.

Len shut his eyes as Rin dried his hair with a small towel. His face was still a bit hot from the bath she gave him, but thankfully the blush was going down. He kept still, breathing in the scent of bananas from the soap she used.

Truthfully, he was actually glad she let him get clean, though he still hated the fact that she saw him naked. Since it was winter and his house had no running water, he couldn't bathe in the river near the house. Which also meant he couldn't wash his clothes either.

She stopped drying, throwing the towel off to the side. Len winced when she grabbed a brush. Surely his hair was full of tangles and would be painful to brush out.

"Hold still." Was all she said.

He was right. It did hurt, but not as much as he expected it to. It took a bit of effort, but after a while, she finally did manage to get the unruly tangles out. His hair, which was reaching down a bit pass his shoulders, was pulled back up into a loose ponytail when she was done.

"We're done here. Stand up." Rin said.

Len pushed himself to his feet. He stumbled a bit, but quickly regained his balance by holding onto the side of the sink.

"Follow me, Len."

* * *

Len felt his heart jump.

"This is your room. You will stay in here until I come for you. You may do whatever you like until then."

Len gulped, then yelped when he was roughly pushed into the large cell. With a large boom, Rin shut the barred door. Len turned around just in time to see her lock it and put away the key.

"I'll come back with your dinner. Don't even try to escape."

Len nodded and watched her leave. He rubbed his arms a bit, feeling cold all of the sudden. He jumped a bit when the sound of another door closing was heard, but he quickly realized that it was just her closing the entrance.

Len took a look at his surroundings.

The cell wasn't very big, but it was enough to let him move freely. Like everything else, ice was what it was made of. Three walls were solid and he couldn't see through them very much, while the other was barred up like a cage, with two of them going horizontally to minimize chances of escape.

The only things inside were a bed with some blankets and two pillows and another door which was connected to a bathroom. There was a small shelf with five books, each one a bit thicker than the last. And finally, a small lamp with a few boxes of matches by it.

In all, it was hell.

Len back up against the corner the farthest away from the door and the objects inside, wanting to get away from all the possessions that he considered Rin's. All the pressure and emotions of the day were finally hitting him hard. And despite trying to keep himself together, Len broke down.

He allowed himself to slowly slide down the wall and curl himself up into a tight ball of misery. Covering his mouth with his hand, Len let loose an abundance of wails and pitiful cries, only stopping to cough, sneeze and just barely breath.

The memories of today were playing over and over again in his head. The deal, his mother's pleading, the chains that bounded him to this cruel deal.

His mother. Oh Gods, his mother.

The thought never even crossed his mind on how much she would suffer from this deal. Having the only family left ripped away from her, just like his father when he was taken by the cruel sea three years before. He only wanted to let her live the life she deserved, but he might as well just ruined it.

It was too late to go back. Too late to see her.

Len choked up at the thought, realization hitting him harder than ever.

He would never see her again. He would never see his mother alive again. He wasn't sure if she would let him see her grave, if she would even get one.

" _As long as she's alive..._ " He whispered, horrified.

What would happen to her when she died? Would Rin give her a proper burial? Or would she just leave her to rot? The deal never said anything about what would happen afterwards.

Len began to tremble, burying his face into his knees at the horrifying images of his mother's dead body abandoned to decompose where no one would care. And the ones of her on her deathbed, crying to see her son one more time.

Losing all sense of time, Len sobbed harder than he had ever cried before. No matter how hard he tried, those terrifying images wouldn't go away. His cries bounced off and echoed throughout the whole dungeon, not that he noticed.

It wasn't until his throat was raw and no more tears would come out, that he started to quiet down. Len's breath came out in ragged gasps, each of them getting a bit longer and calmer than the last. By the time they became deep and somewhat steady, Len's heavy crying was reduced to quiet sniffing.

Len wiped his face once more with his already soaked sleeves and shook his head. His nose was stuffed and his head was pounding, but he ignored it.

Feeling exhausted from the day and his crying fest, Len sprawled himself on the floor and curled up into a fetal position. After adjusting himself as to get more comfortable, he let himself drift off into an uneasy sleep.


End file.
